Su país (Your country)
I’m putting off finishing my final Ecuadorian paper, the only thing standing between me and reaching senior status. Writing twelve pages is a trying task in the silent libraries of Cornell, but when it’s assigned in Spanish, during your last days in a bustling capital city in the middle of the South American sunshine, it becomes nearly impossible.
Seeing as the paper was assigned about two months ago and this past weekend was the last free time I had to work on it, I took the responsible option and expanded my cultural horizons by heading out of town for one last weekend adventure here in Ecuador. Needless to say, I didn’t bring my books or computer. Ah, to be abroad and truly realize what is important.
A friend and I caught a bus late Thursday evening to a small town called Baños about 4 hours outside of Quito. Baños is the word for bathrooms in Spanish but literally translates to baths, which is the town’s main tourist attraction, the thermal hot springs. It’s set in a tiny valley surrounded by active volcanoes and although there have been eruptions in the recent past, things have been relatively quiet since I arrived in Ecuador in January. Besides, a little raining ash never hurt anyone.
The first morning we rented bikes for the day and rode to about a dozen waterfalls throughout the surrounding towns. We hired a guide and repelled down the falls and were thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day. While the beauty was stunning and the weather was perfect, it was one particular moment that hit me pretty hard and made the trip for me. We were hiking up one of the volcanoes to get a good view of the town below when an Ecuadorian woman came out of her house and called to us on the trail. “¿De dónde son ustedes? (Where are you from?)” she asked us. We stopped and replied that we were from the United States but that we had spent the semester living in Quito. “Por eso, ustedes son de Ecuador, ahora esto es su país, mis hijas. (Therefore, you’re from Ecuador. This is your country now, my daughters.)” Ecuador is a very hospitable country but this stranger’s welcome was the warmest I had received since I arrived in January. I was struck by her kindness and suddenly very aware of just how long I had been living away from home.
It will be 5 months away by the time I get back to New York at the end of May. Although I will always call the United States my home, I’ve decided that I’m willing to leave a little piece of myself here: the part of me that leaps from moving buses and smiles every time I successfully lower my cab fare 15 cents. It’s the person who tries cuy (guinea pig) and hitchhikes when stranded in the mountains. I’ve pledged to make it back in one piece, along with lots of stories and photos and souvenirs for everyone back home. However it seems as though some part of me will never really leave. I’m glad I can say I made a lasting connection to this new country and I’m thankful to say I’ve almost made it through. ¡Que rápido pasó el tiempo! (How quickly the time has passed!) See you all very soon.
Que te vayas bien,
Ariel
hello, very nice blog